Hamilton Music Collective Presents:

Harold Danko Trio

Thursday October 3, 2024

TICKET LINK

Featuring:

Neil Swainson (Bass)

Terry Clarke (Drums)

Series Tickets on sale Friday August 23 2024 9:00am

Individual Tickets on sale Friday September 6 2024 9:00am

Tickets: $45 / $25 (student)

Purchase a Series Ticket and save 15% on each show here.

Check out the rest of the fall series here.

Please choose your seats at check out!

Doors at 7:00PM, show at 8:00PM (two sets).

Thanks to our charcuterie sponsor Sam’s Cheese & Meats! Find them in the Hamilton Farmer’s Market.

About Harold Danko

A 30-album discography, associations with an impressive list of jazz legends including Chet Baker, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis and Woody Herman, not to mention countless recording sessions, only describe a fraction of what pianist Harold Danko brings to the table. In a career spanning more than a half century, Harold Danko has established himself as a distinguished pianist, composer and band leader, fortified by an impressive resume. Since 1980 he has earned ASCAP awards yearly for the value of his catalog of original compositions. Danko holds Professor Emeritus status at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, where he chaired the jazz studies program for eleven years.

Pianist/composer Harold Danko is best known for his long-term associations with an impressive list of jazz legends including Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Lee Konitz and Woody Herman. Beginning his piano studies at the age of five, Harold became serious about pursuing a career in jazz at the age of fifteen when he commenced studies with Gene Rush in Youngstown, Ohio. After graduation from Youngstown State University and a stint in the Army band, Harold landed the piano chair in Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd, which launched his career as a much sought after jazz musician. He also developed a reputation as a respected jazz educator and served on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music, the New School/Mannes, and Hartt College.

He has performed at major jazz venues throughout the world as well as on recordings, television and video. As a band leader he has been featured in Lincoln Center’s “Meet the Artist” series, Washington (DC) Performing Arts Society series at J.F.K. Center, the Rochester International Jazz Festival, and numerous jazz festivals both in the USA and abroad. In 1995 he was awarded an NEA Fellowship to perform his own works in a series of concerts in New York City. Throughout the 90s Harold performed with and composed for his own quartet with Rich Perry (tenor saxophone), Scott Colley (bass) and Jeff Hirshfield (drums) and more recently a trio with Hirshfield and Michael Formanek (bass) with whom he has recorded a series of highly acclaimed CDs on the SteepleChase label. For more than two decades, Harold has won ASCAP awards, based on “the unique prestige value of [his] catalogue of original compositions.”

He accepted an appointment from the Eastman School of Music in 1998 and now chairs the Jazz and Contemporary Media department. He teaches jazz piano, directs the Jazz Performance Workshops, and heads the Eastman Jazz Trio, whose first CD was released in 2003. In addition to his own educational video, Jazz Keyboard Techniques, available only in Brazil, he can be seen and heard on video performances with Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, and Lee Konitz. Harold’s featured column, “Solo Piano”, appeared in Keyboard Magazine for more than five years, and his keyboard improvisation method, the Illustrated Keyboard Series, is a widely used reference.

His latest CDs, released over the last three years on the SteepleChase label, “Spring Garden”, “Rite Notes”, and “Trillium” are all inspired by Igor Stravinsky.

“These recordings document important steps in my continuing exploration of Stravinsky’s music for purposes of composition and improvisation – a harvest growing directly from the Rite of Spring and other related works. In live performances the eighteen pieces developed from my studies serve as springboards for further investigation and improvisation. My post-production work on the recordings sparked greater interest in finding even more content to draw on from Stravinsky’s scores, and the pieces have evolved into a kind of suite for solo piano incorporating details that had to be left out of the recordings. I premiered an abbreviated version in 2020 at my Leap Year concert on February 29 in East Rochester and longer versions later at the Bop Shop and Rochester International Jazz Festival.”

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Join Hamilton Music Collective for our 10th anniversary jazz concert series, showcasing top Canadian and international musicians in jazz, blues, and improvised music. Step into our cozy jazz lounge at 141 Park Street, featuring a top notch sound system (brand new in 2020), wine selections, and an attentive audience. It all comes together in the perfect venue to hear world-class jazz in downtown Hamilton!

All proceeds from ticket sales support the An Instrument For Every Child (AIFEC) program.

For more information about the Hamilton Music Collective and An Instrument For Every Child visit: hamiltonmusiccollective.ca

Parking is available in the parking lots. Read more here: https://www.thegasworks.ca/parking/